Donald Trump supporters think that Microsoft’s involvement in last night’s Iowa’s caucus helped Marco Rubio achieve a third place finish that some are predicting could turn the Florida Senator into the Republican frontrunner.

For many, Rubio’s far better than expected performance was more noteworthy than Ted Cruz’ triumph, leading to suspicions about vote tampering.

“Polling indicated Rubio would be a distant third, trailing by perhaps double digits in the socially conservative state — an afterthought behind the two candidates expected to duke it out for first: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Donald Trump,” reported the Washington Post.

However, soon after Rubio captured 23 per cent of the vote, just one per cent behind Trump, the hashtag #MicrosoftRubioFraud began trending on Twitter, with some Trump supporters adamant that Microsoft, who helped tally the votes via their own app, had been involved in foul play.

“Members of the 8chan message board (one of the original Gamergate hotbeds) began theorizing earlier on Monday that Microsoft software used for counting votes was going to screw Trump somehow,” writes Noah Kulwin. “And when Trump finished behind Ted Cruz and ahead of Marco Rubio, it stunned many Trump supporters online, who turned this Breitbart article connecting Microsoft and Rubio into an anti-Rubio rallying cry.”

While many Trump supporters used the hashtag to express their suspicions, it was also hijacked by Democrats to make fun of the entire issue.

Rubio’s surprisingly strong showing has led many establishment voices to predict that he will now emerge as the main challenger to both Trump and Cruz. If Rubio can beat the other “establishment” candidates in New Hampshire, then a three horse race appears likely.